Can anyone recommend a great mortgage broker or lender who may have some good packages in these rough times of lending. I have a condo investment that I bought 5 years ago and I THOUGHT I signed a 30 year fixed rate mortgage only to find out I had signed a 5 year ARM and the ARM is now up to increase by 1% from 6.625 to 7.25 and then every6 months, increasing 1% at a time, I need to lock into a 30 year fixed rate or default or just sell the condo at the low prices of today. I feel I was misled by the mortgage broker and the settlement atty at the time as papers changed quickly when I sat at the table unrepresented. It was a for sale by owner, and now the mortgage company that has switched called America's Servicing Company says I don't quality for a refinance, my debt to income ratio is to high. I either have to sell the condo at a loss or default. Any help is appreciated.

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L.V.

answers from
Washington DC
on
July 19, 2008

I love my mortgage broker, Rafael Villavicencio with Potomac Mortgage Capital in Herndon. His phone number is ###-###-#### ext 113. Or you can email him at [email protected]____.com has proven very helpful and has excellent customer service skills and follow through! Good luck!

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P.F.

answers from
Washington DC
on
July 22, 2008

Felicity Dean has been wonderful. She has been helping us buy a house. It is nice to get updates as things happen instead of being kept in the dark. I don't understand how all loans work and she has made this process so easy. I don't feel like I'm being talked down to as if I'm an idiot, she explains things so I can understand. Felicity is with Washington Capitol Financial Corp, her direct line is ###-###-####. Good luck.

P.

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M.V.

answers from
Washington DC
on
December 07, 2008

Hi C.,

I am currently a loan officer for SunTrust Mortgage. I have been doing this for quite a while and have seen some strange situations of which I have helped a lot of people. I am also an investor myself so I understand both sides. I have recently added a service to my business which helps people like yourself. Most everyone is having a tough time with this economy. Please give me a call so that I can help you with some options you may have. There is no obligation on your part.

Sincerely,
M. V
###-###-#### cell

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D.K.

answers from
Washington DC
on
July 19, 2008

Our family (husband, MIL and SIL) uses Family Lender in Fairfax VA. They are wonderful and very helpful. They are also a referral company and don't advertise to get clients. I think you'd really like them. We use Vinnie Apostolico, but all of the lenders are wonderful.

If you'd like give them my name as the referral you can send me a message and I can give it to you offline.

Good Luck.

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E.T.

answers from
Washington DC
on
July 19, 2008

A couple of points:

Mortgage Brokers: They search for the best rate out there... but they take a cut.... so be careful that you really get a good deal once they add on their fees, etc.

Bank/Credit Union (that offers mortgage services): They let you know THEIR lowest rate, but you have an opporunity to negotiate... particularly since there is no brokerage fee/middle man. (You can also contact a few banks/credit unions and try to find the best deal and negotiate them lower.) Even if the interest rate is the same or higher as that with a broker, you may pay less due to less fees, etc...

Basically, be sure to run ALL the numbers!

My husband and I would recommend first checking directly with your bank/credit union and avoid the usage of a "broker". Of the recommendations listed below, the recommendation from "Katherine A" might be good since he is labeled a "mortage banker"... not a mortgage broker.

We do not live on the West Coast, but we still get all our loans from the same person we have been dealing with for years.... her name is Jennifer Sun, Citibank, Millbrae, California. Feel free to contact her. She is excellent. Trustworthy and you do not need to haggle with her. She gives you the best rate she can from the beginning.... we still do all our research... but she has not let us down yet.

Best of luck to you. You are doing the right thing by being super proactive and resolving this as quickly and smartly as possible.

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K.A.

answers from
Washington DC
on
July 19, 2008

My uncle is a mortgage banker with National City Mortgage. He is a wonderful guy - very nice and would never lead anyone into something they couldn't do. He's also been in the business for a great number of years, so he has a lot of experience. His name is Lou Mendez and you can reach him at ###-###-####.

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S.R.

answers from
Washington DC
on
July 19, 2008

I just went through this process and it's a tough time to be doing it, but you're wise to move NOW. And although the 30 year fixed are hard to get, we pushed until we had one. We ended up going with themoneystore.com and got a 5.875 30 year fixed. I'm hesitant to tell you that all has worked perfectly (I was VERY wary about working with an online group, even though they came highly recommended from a friend of the CEO!), but we close this week and so far so good. The fees are really minimal (lower than anyone I talked with) and the service has been great. I started out at bankrate.com which is a great site to get a sense of what is out there. Once you input what you're looking for (no info that would raise security risks), you get a number of recommendations and you may also get some phone calls. I heard from Premier Mortgage, Fidelity Mortgage, and Quicken loans, all of whom had interesting options and knowledgable folks. After following the market for a couple of weeks and getting over 6 "good faith estimates" we went with the Money Store and have been really happy so far. I will report back if things do NOT go smoothly. Good luck to you and don't wait too long on this - rates are heading up!
S.

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C.D.

answers from
Washington DC
on
July 19, 2008

I can recommend several that are great, but first, it depends on several factors if you are even eligible to refinance. If the property isn't worth what your mortgage is for, you would have to make up the difference- For simplicity's sake, let's say your mortgage was for $100,000, you've paid $5,000 off so far. You still owe $95,000. When you refinance there are costs associated with doing it. You have to pay the lender money to do all the paper shuffling, etc. There's also a title search to be sure there aren't any new liens on the property and an appraisal that's done to determine the value of your property. Much of the DC metro area is called a "declining market," so many time appraisals come in lower than what they are currently mortgaged for. Say the appraisal in our example comes in at $85,000, there's a $10,000 difference that would have to be made up for when you refinance. That's why it's very common that people are short selling their properties - they can no longer afford the mortgage payments.

In the refinancing or lending process, lenders look at a variety of information including your credit score, your income and your debt, as well as your assets. If all of these are in great shape, you are in the best position to borrow money, but one not so hot does not preclude you borrowing. It's kind of a moving target.

The good news is that before anything major happens, you may have a few different options. You might be able to refinance or short sell. You may even be able to set it up so that even if you can't refinance right now, you will be able to soon. It all depends on the situation. I can give you names of a couple lenders that may be able to help- email me at C. DOT dolak AT longandfoster DOT com.